Free Suits Foster Confidence, Boost Self-Esteem

Non-profit Ensures Recipients Give Back

In today’s job market, even if you have a college degree and years of experience, competition is fierce among unemployed professionals. Just getting an interview can seem like a milestone of a turning point. When the call comes for an interview, most job seekers own the right suit to at least impress a potential employer.

What if you know what to wear to the interview but look in your closet and hang your head because you don’t even own the basic professional attire? For some, it’s unconscionable to imagine being in such an embarrassing position. However, it’s a heartbreaking reality for nearly 200 unemployed women a month, who visit Dress for Success, in DC. An overwhelming majority of the organization’s clients are welfare recipients serious about stepping into the workforce. Caseworkers refer the women to Dress for Success . “The women get three free suits, a pair of shoes, jewelry and accessories on their first trip, says Melissa Frazier, a Dress for Success counselor.

Dress for Success is a national non-profit organization. The DC Chapter is like a community closet and help center. Through a number of in-house programs, clients give thanks by giving back. Career training seminars, GED classes, as well as a small computer room are all available and free. However, successful clients are rewarded and must pay-it-forward. “If they get a job, they get another free suit and they have to join the professional women’s group here,” says Frazier.

Members of the group support each other through monthly meetings, where they openly discuss issues women new to the workplace may find exhausting. So far, 69 women are members. They volunteer at area homeless shelters and help with school supply drives. “We do this to help the women not only look good in their new suits but it’s also an opportunity for them to work on their inner-self,” says Frazier.

An experience in the late 90s with a welfare recipient encouraged Yvonne Williams to volunteer. At the time, Williams was a State Department employee training a new hire. “She (the new hire) came to the department through the welfare-to-work program and she was a real hard worker,” says Williams. Williams is now a retiree and says the welfare-to-work employee has been promoted several times. “She made such an impression on me that I wanted to do something to help others in her situation,” says Williams.

Like most non-profits across the country, Dress for Success has seen a substantial spike in clients. In 2008, about 100 women a month between ages 18 and 34 came looking for help. This year, the number has doubled and some clients are as old as 50. The increasing demand is constantly a challenge for supply. Several days a week, volunteers try to keep up. They sort out and organize hundreds of used skirts, blouses and women’s suits in all sizes. “As fast as we get donations in, they’re out the door,” says Frazier.

Donations come from residents, small-businesses and some high-end retail stores. Kathy Sheehy, one of a handful of volunteers at Dress for Success, says it’s instrumental for Dress for Success to be able to fill a financial gap. “A lot of people just don’t’ have $300 to spend on a suit,” says Kathy Sheehy, who plans to open a personal shopping business in DC. The organization’s greatest need now is for fall and winter clothing. Plus sizes are extremely difficult to keep in stock, as well as black pumps in large sizes. While Dress for Success is in need of everything from blouses to new pantyhose, Frazier offers a word of caution to anyone considering donating. “If you wouldn’t wear it to a job interview, don’t donate it.”

For more information and to find a Dress for Success center near you, log on to www.dressforsuccess.org. You can call the Washington, DC office at (202) 269-4805.

Please forward all comments about this article to Maniko Barthelemy at newsheels@gmail.com.

Gifted Hands Sculpt Unforgettable Cakes

Entrepreneur Gambles on New Orleans

Starting a business is not easy and starting over after losing your home and your business is even tougher. Three days a week, a New Orleans small business owner turns her kitchen into a world-class bakery. If you can think it, chances are, Kimberly Gibson can make flour, eggs, milk, oil and a few secret ingredients look exactly, if not better than the design you had in mind. “My most popular cake is the castle cake for girls and the Spiderman 3-D cake for boys,” says Gibson.

In essence, you can call Gibson, owner of Kute Kreations and Kakes by Kimberly, a cake sculptor and artist. The use of the letter “k” in place of “c” is Gibson’s own salute to the pride she takes in her name. As for her skills, you can take one look at her cakes and see, Gibson’s not an average baker.

“I like seeing the amazement on people’s faces,” says Gibson. From carefully crafting a colorful ring of edible baby bottles to a meticulously designed pink ballerina dress and even a Disney themed castle, Gibson just thinks well outside of the box.

She’s been in the kitchen putting a signature twist on incredible edible sculptures for 18 years. “It began as a way to earn extra money and have fun,” says Gibson. “I remember the first cake I made, it was in the shape of a baby and I thought it was the best cake in the world,” she adds. The cake that stared it all came from a box and was for her daughter’s first birthday party.

Soon after the party, Gibson’s phone began ringing and she wanted to make her cakes stand out from the rest. “When I saw that people were paying $80 to $90 for plain sheet cakes from local bakeries and chain grocery stores, I got busy,” says Gibson. To compete with big businesses, Gibson invested in herself. “I enrolled in cake decorating classes and bought instructional DVDs, watched them and went to work,” says Gibson.

In a matter of months, her client base quickly expanded to include R & B artists like R. Kelly and record companies like Cash Money Records. Around town, local universities and police departments routinely put in orders too. In 2005, all of Gibson’s supplies and her home disappeared, when Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans.

For less than a year, Gibson made a small town in Colorado her home. The entire time there, she says she weighed every risk and reward any entrepreneur would consider, when it comes to launching a small business. Despite New Orleans’ ongoing obvious struggles to rebuild bigger and better, Gibson took a gamble on the Big Easy. “I came back with nothing but I love New Orleans. It’s a great place to have a business because somebody’s going to have a party for anything,” says Gibson.

Four years after Hurricane Katrina, a lot of what makes New Orleans unique, is on some level back. Seasonal music and food festivals, sporting events, conventions and of course, Mardi Gras pull in thousands of tourists. Small-businesses like Gibson’s benefit substantially when there’s a big event in town. However, they have to strategically develop a financial cushion of support, to stay in business during slow periods in the city.

Gibson, who’s a single mother, works full-time as a social worker. Part-time, she advertises at local day care centers, in neighborhood circulars, and reinvests at least 50 percent of her cake business earnings back in the business. The payoff is encouraging. It’s been three years, since Gibson returned home. Getting business back to pre-Katrina levels and higher has been a bit of a challenge, but she’s not discouraged. “People are calling me now, instead of calling chain grocery stores or bakeries,” says Gibson.

Her cakes, carefully crafted from the flavor, to the design, icing and presentation, cost $100 to $600. Gibson’s dream is to take Kute Kreations and Kakes by Kimberly to the next level. “I want to franchise my business.”

For more information on Kute Kreations and Kakes by Kimberly, log on to http://www.kutekreations.com/.

We welcome your story ideas for this blog. Please e-mail story ideas, comments and suggestions to newsheels@gmail.com.

First Movie Role, Lasting Impression

Perry movie makes millions, creates star

A movie has tremendous power. It can twist and turn our minds and emotions in ways we don’t generally discuss with strangers. Whether cast members give us a flashback of a hurtful, happy or hysterically interesting time in our lives, a great movie can also pour over the moviegoer a connection with a crucial character. In Tyler Perry’s latest box office hit “I Can Do Bad All by Myself”, the person on screen who tugs at the hearts of everyone is 16-year-old Jennifer. “She brought tears to my eyes,” says Derek Easton.

From the moment she hits the screen, you can tell the teenager has gone through a lot. “That little girl had such a bad attitude. She had too much responsibility for her age,” says Frances Makle. The death of Jennifer’s crack addicted mother left the teenager and her brothers to live with their grandmother. Later in the movie, the grandmother dies too. The children end up living with an aunt, who initially detests becoming an instant mother of three. Playing the role of the aunt is Oscar-nomineeTaraji P. Henson.

Hope Wilson plays the role of the teenager who’s the sole symbol of love, stability and trust for her young siblings. “I’m really grateful. He (Perry) gives people a shot. He doesn’t hesitate to take someone and give them a chance to show to the world they have it, says Wilson.

In a way, Wilson’s ability to deliver a flawless performance is quite shocking, on Hollywood’s talent measuring scale. Aside from a few sporadic TV roles, the Nigerian native has a year of professional training. “I’m beyond excited,” says Wilson. “I’m still pinching myself because I always wanted a career in film and in television and to have a lead role, I wouldn’t have even dared asked for such a thing,” she adds.

Intense classical and theatrical performance training at the elite London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art nurtured Wilson’s acting desire and gift. Life lessons helped her wow casting directors and become Jennifer. “My grandmother died when my mother was only three, so she lived her life on guard all the time and I thought that’s how you were supposed to live, says Wilson. “Later in life I learned if you don’t change, all that anger just makes you a bitter person.”

A few years ago, a decision to change directions professionally put Wilson on the path to finding her way on-screen. “If you feel like you want to do something, you have to really do it. Don’t wait for validation. It has to be almost non-negotiable and run through your blood,” she says. Wilson’s pursuit of happiness as an actress came at the expense of another dream. After graduating high school at 15, she set high goals. “I wanted to be a doctor,” says Wilson.

During her senior year in college, Wilson could no longer ignore her urge to break into the entertainment industry. “I’ve been acting since I was about three. I would watch soap operas and reenact the scenes from the shows, movies or anything I saw on TV or I’d try to reenact something I read in a book,” says Wilson. She put her science books away and headed to London, hoping to return to California skilled enough to find work. “I didn’t want to look back on my life and regret anything,” says Wilson. Judging from LAMDA’s training and the reaction from fans, Wilson’s decision was the right career move. “She did a wonderful job,” says Sam Harris, of Wilson’s performance. “I could not tell this was her first time,” she added. As much as her fans adore her work this first time around, Wilson appreciates them as well. “I want them to understand that they are valued as an audience,” says Wilson.

According to some reports, “I Can Do Bad All by Myself” grossed around $24 million over opening weekend. The thousands of fans who hit theaters across the country, likely came out to see stars like Taraji P. Henson, Mary J. Blige and Gladys Knight. After seeing the movie, some are now ready to add Hope Wilson to their list of Hollywood favorites. “She’s a good actress,” says Frances Makle. “It just looked like it came to her naturally. If she’s in anything else, I’ll go see it.”

Whether Wilson returns in another Perry film is unknown. She’s however, still carving out a place for her in a tremendously tough industry. “I’m part of a production company. Eventually, I want to produce my own movies,” says Wilson.

To find out more about Hope Wilson, log on to www.hopewilson.com.

Chicken Fried Success and Stability

Protecting heritage and preserving history, post-Katrina

During the lunch hour on any given day, it’s common to see Popeyes or KFC lobbies packed with customers looking to enjoy the secret herbs and spices that make the chain chicken restaurants super successful. Around lunch time, tucked away in a New Orleans neighborhood, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, you’ll find a line outside and all tables full at a famous fried chicken restaurant. “I’ve been coming here for just about 30 years,” says Allison Randolph, a New Orleans native.

Keeping customers like Randolph is not easy for any restaurant in New Orleans. In the Big Easy, residents are as serious about great food, as New Yorkers are about fashion trends. Randolph eats at Willie Mae’s Scotch House at least four times a month and brings his son along. “I like the chicken. It’s the best I ever tasted,” says Jordan Randolph.

Natives aren’t the only ones in love with the fried chicken at the Treme neighborhood restaurant on Saint Ann Street. Minutes before the doors open at the lunch-only restaurant, customers, mostly tourists, line up outside to get a seat. The small frame house comfortably seats 40 customers at most. San Antonio businessman Jim Ramsey considers himself a “chicken fanatic”. “I’m looking for the chicken to be crunchy, have the right amount of heat, spices and everything you’re used to having in chicken with a New Orleans flare,” says Ramsey. Ironically, he says his family opened a KFC in Oklahoma years ago but the secret recipe at Willie Mae’s beats out the Colonel.

So, what makes the fried chicken so award-winning and special? “I tell my staff to treat everybody like a food critic,” says Kerry Seaton, who operates the restaurant, in place of her 92-year-old great-grandmother and restaurant founder, Willie Mae Seaton. Her great-grandmother recently retired. Kerry Seaton, however, won’t tell you her family’s secret recipe.

In early 2005, Willie Mae’s was honored with several prestigious awards for serving up the most delicious chicken in the country. The restaurant even received the industry’s coveted and distinct James Beard award. The joy experienced was short-lived. Hurricane Katrina’s unforgiving winds and flood waters destroyed the business. Rebuilding meant literally starting from scratch, since everything was gone and the restaurant was uninsured. “It was like the rug was pulled from under us,” says Seaton. “You think you’re going away for the weekend and you come back months later and see all of your hard work just gone.”

When word got out that the neighborhood landmark took a devastating blow from Katrina, help arrived. Family members, friends, volunteers and a host of non-profit organizations, like the Southern Foodways Alliance, donated nearly two years of hard work and raised $200,000 needed to re-open Willie Mae’s doors.

Seaton says getting back in business brought immense joy to her great-grandmother’s heart. “She was so intent on getting back to this neighborhood and just thought it was beautiful to see everyone pitch in to help out. Without the volunteers, I don’t know how we would have been able to come back,” says Seaton.

These days, it’s almost like Katrina never happened. The chicken still comes out of the small kitchen, with the perfect amount of secret seasoning, fried to a golden-crisp and is as tender as you can imagine. While the recipe for that hasn’t changed, there is a twist to the menu. “We no longer use pork products in our beans and we have a few vegetarian entrees available for customers,” says Seaton.

Photos on the wall tell the story of Willie Mae’s Scotch House from its early beginnings in 1957, in a small room. “It was a bar at first, but she (Willie Mae Seaton) didn’t have a license to sell beer, so regulators came through one day and took all of her beer,” says Seaton, of her great-grandmother’s early start. “The next day, customers ran an ad in a local paper encouraging residents to come to the “Scotch House” and the name stuck.”

Certificates and awards that line the wall validate a proclamation Seaton gives rather emphatically about the food and the satisfaction customers can expect when they visit. “I’m seeking perfection and we’re trying our best to be the best. I want to be the best everyday with every plate,” says Seaton.

Seaton knows she’s stepping into a legacy and reputation carefully crafted by her great-grandmother’s work ethic and commitment. It’s a challenge she gracefully accepts. “If she did it for 50 years, then I want to do it for 50 more.”

Introducing Rick Younger

From Stand-up to the Big Screen

When it comes to landing a role on the small or big screen, an actor can easily get typecast. Which likely explains why for years, Rick Younger has put his hands in a select grab- bag of roles. “All I can say is that it’s been a blessing,” says Younger. His blessings tend to flow in a way only someone glued to their dream can understand. “Everything that’s mine, I’m going to get,” he adds.

Next summer, you can catch him in movie theaters sharing the screen with a cast of industry heavyweights, like Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, in “Morning Glory”. The movie is about a morning news show, sorting out creative ways to boost ratings. Younger plays a producer. “I was told they were looking for people who were funny and good with improvisation,” says Younger.

Younger was apparently more than just good. After a month of auditions and a three-month waiting period, he beat out the competition. “I was afraid to really tell a lot of people because you have to wait until the movie comes out and hope all your lines or at least two of your lines make it in, so you don’t look crazy to your friends,” says Younger.

It’s his first appearance in a major motion picture. Younger’s improvisation skills have a lot to do with how he got a break in the industry. Seventeen years ago, a friend dared the Baltimore native to hop onstage at a DC comedy club, during open-mike night. “Everything I said that night got a laugh,” he says. From that night on, he was hooked.

The stand-up comedian used a unique experience to cross into the film industry. His self-produced documentary, “Souled Out Comedy” has been selected for the upcoming Mid-Atlantic Black Film Festival. The film chronicles the success of six African-American comedians, including Younger, who partnered together out of frustration and necessity to find steady work in New York. “A lot of black comedians weren’t getting work. We decided to put together a show. I wanted to find a group that could entertain any audience and “Souled Out Comedy” was born,” says Younger.

If you catch Younger at a comedy club, there’s something you’ll pick up instantly. Younger jokes about just about every aspect of life and makes audiences laugh hysterically. The best part, he does it without a vulgar, racially charged or sexually explicit delivery. It was the success of the “Souled Out Comedy” tour in New York, that opened doors for Younger in the world of television commercials. Chances are you’ve seen him sporting a tailored Burlington Coat Factory suit, driving a Chevy vehicle or encouraging you to switch to Verizon. It wasn’t long after commercial spots that Younger began appearing in episodes of “Law & Order”. “I have a supreme belief in my talent. God puts something in all of us that we are capable of doing, if we do the work,” says Younger.

Recently, independent film lovers at the Roxbury Film Festival got a glimpse at Younger’s talent as a jazz musician in “Whistle & Snap”. In it, Younger plays a very successful musician, who’s preparing for his induction into the Jazz Hall of Fame. “I keep seeing like Tyler Perry do it and I said if they can do it, I can do it. You just can’t take no for an answer,” says Younger. "Whistle & Snap" is a project under the umbrella of Younger Child Productions. He co-owns the company with his wife, Vanessa Shealy. “The reviews of the film were great. People were very surprised that it wasn’t your stereotypical black comedy film,” says Younger.

Pulling the curtain back on stereotypes and adding a successful spin on the problem, is nothing new to the self-proclaimed Renaissance Man. His childhood dream was to become an award-winning singer. However, when he booked time in studios with producers, industry insiders encouraged Younger to put a twist on his sound. “They wanted me to sound more like male singers from groups like Jodeci and H-town,” says Younger.

Ironically, the sound that was not cookie-cutter music to the ears of some music producers was perfect for Broadway. Early on in his career, Younger auditioned and got a role as a chorus singer in the Broadway hit musical“Rent”. “I’d never seen the show. I remembered all the rage about “Rent”. The cast was diverse and I thought to myself, there’s a play that has a part for me,” he adds.

In his own way and in just about every show, Younger returns to his childhood dream. As he crisscrosses comedy clubs across the country, he tosses in his version of a number of popular tunes, while doing his stand-up routine. However, his most visible role may be Younger’s appearances on the “Today” show. He’s a member of the “Guys Tell All” panel. The four men offer tips to women, regarding how men generically think, when it comes to relationships. “I like being on the show. It gives me a chance to be myself,” says Younger.

 As for his future, he’s a funny man serious about his success. Younger points to the accomplishments of comedians like Damon Wayans, Eddie Murphy and Steve Martin as fuel for his drive toward the big prize, an Oscar. If “Morning Glory” opens as many doors for Younger, as smaller opportunities have so far, the big break just may get significantly less bumpy for him.

Rick Younger’s story is part of “Acting Up”, a series of motivational and informative features posted on www.newsheels.blogspot.com that will highlight the success, struggles and sacrifices made by people breaking into the entertainment industry.
Click on one of the following links to view Rick Younger's work;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQmeSkePAE8, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-9--brqEBU or follow Rick Younger at www.rickyounger.blogspot.com.

New Orleans Beauty Shop Owner Lone Ranger in 9th Ward

Four years of progress, plight and possibilities

Anyone would assume that on an average hot, humid and hazy day in a southern city, if you hear an ice cream truck, you’re likely to see a trail of children laughing, smiling and pointing, after buying their favorite cold treat. That’s not, however, even close to the reality in many New Orleans

neighborhoods, especially in the Lower 9th Ward.

Four miles away from the sights and sounds of random melodic jazz bands, street entertainers, flavor bursting restaurants and excited, busy,

happy tourists, you’ll find a gumbo of progress, plight and unfulfilled promises, post-Katrina. “They haven’t built anything new down here except for the school,” says Nedra Bell, 37, owner of Flaminn’ Design, a beauty shop in the Lower 9th Ward.

Four years have passed since Hurricane Katrina’s high winds and waters from levee breaches drowned and destroyed homes, businesses,

schools and everything seemingly normal about the predominately African American neighborhood. Sadly and on some level surprisingly, it looks like

the storm of the century hit yesterday.

For several blocks, on average there may be three newly constructed homes, amid seven or eight empty, dry, grass-filled lots where homes once stood. The old homes, churches and corner stores that seemingly survived Katrina’s battering, look depressing, lean to the side and are discolored. Some still have the original markings spray-painted by law enforcement or members of the military days after the storm, indicating the home or structure had been checked for survivors or bodies. Grocery stores are absent, as well as 24-hour gas stations, a hospital is at least a 10-minute drive and the only school in the Lower 9th Ward is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School.

So why would any business owner rebuild in the area, where there is so little progress and not even half of the residents have returned? “I love New Orleans. There’s no place like home,” says Bell.

Her beauty shop, near N. Claiborne Avenue and Lizardi Street is in the heart of the Lower 9th Ward.  She could have easily opened a shop in Houston and made the city where she evacuated with her three children her new home. When Bell returned to New Orleans months after Katrina to check on her property, she was motivated and moved to tears. Her business was still standing. “I felt like God kept it here for me to come back. It felt almost unreal. Everything was black and white. Animals and trees were dead. The smell was awful. You’ll never forget it,” says Bell.

Despite the despair and desolate conditions she found surrounding her salon, none of it outweighed Bell’s determination to come back. Starting over was a financial, emotional and professional challenge.  Ripping out and remodeling the inside of the business cost $60,000.

To cover the cost, Bell took a job as a stylist at a shop in another New Orleans neighborhood,
saved every penny she made, combined the money with funds from her savings account and a small business loan. It took her a year to get back in business. She believed her return to the area hardest hit by Katrina, would motivate other business owners to come home.

A fraction of residents have returned but so far Bell is a bit of a lone ranger.  Flaminn’ Design is the only salon open in the Lower 9th Ward. The doors have been open for nearly three years. Bell’s appointment book stays filled. Flaminn’ Design with its two styling stations, two hairdryers, contemporary artwork on display, is where you can find accessories on sale, get the trendiest hairstyles and openly talk about anything that bothers you.  “Even though they’re around all of this, they feel better when they get their hair done,” says Bell.

Perhaps the better feeling is also tied into how customers come to the shop and their casual conversations swing between everything from rebuilding efforts, returning home, family domestic issues and life away from New Orleans. Everyone has a Katrina flashback.  For some, it helps them maneuver through life. “I saw the news the day before the storm and said, ‘I got to go’,” says Sheryl Morton, 45, a customer of Bell’s for 15 years. “I thank God I left or I wouldn’t be here.”

Others clients however, still struggle with haunting images. “I spent four days on the roof with family, hoping and wishing,” says

Veronica O’Neal-Wilson, 41.” To get to safety, Wilson says she and her family found a boat and rowed to higher ground, using wooden sticks from bunk beds. “My son still has nightmares,” she says. O’Neal-Wilson now lives in Spring, TX but routinely hits the road for the six-hour drive to Bell’s shop. “I come back to get my hair done, fill up on New Orleans seasonings and meat and drive back to Texas the same day.”

Bell remains optimistic that the days of residents not wanting to come home and stay and businesses setting up shop primarily miles away from the Lower 9th Ward will eventually fade. “Five years from now, I see more progress. It’s going to be better because most of the neighborhood is going to be homeowners but I think it might take at least 10 years for this area to fully come back and look better.”

Katrina Progress Report (1)

Coming up Monday, four years after Hurricane Katrina, progress or festering plight in the Big Easy? Find out what happened when a business owner decided to return to the lower 9th ward neighborhood in New Orleans.